strawberry blonde ale.... what do i use?

[NewEnglander]

I've used pectic enzyme in cider before to help keep it clear...didn't help it from tasting like ass, but it was clear...If you do go with fruit in the hot wort, you could try a bit of the enzyme...

[ziggy]

Whatever you do don't use strawberry extract. I made an awesome wheat beer one time and ruined it with strawberry extract that tasted like cough syrup. Raspberry extract and blueberry were really good but for some reason strawberry wasn't. I talked to some guys that made a strawberry beer at the world beer festival and what they did was have the strawberries pureed to a chunky consistency. Then they rack onto the berries and taste it everyday for a few days and once it picks up enough flavor they rack off.

[herbie53]

Do you skin the berries prior to pureeing them? Ive heard the seeds can cause problems...

[brodie113]

I say go for frozen strawberries too. If you get fresh, then freeze and thaw them prior to using. I have only used real strawberries in a mead but I hear that strawberries lend a pretty mild flavor compared to other fruits in beer. See page 175 in Radical Brewing - 2+ LBS of strawberries are recommended.

However...

I made a strawberry blonde some time ago where I used extract only. I was happy with the result and it didn't taste like cough medicine at all. I think the quality of extract brands vary and between the different fruits in the product line. The base beer was super light, with only 15 IBUs or so, and I only used about 3/4 of the fruit extract.

If you are set on using fruit, I would aim high on the LBS per gallon. Then, I would have some strawberry extract on hand to supplement whenever you keg or bottle. I think the extracts lend some important aroma which if you use 1/4 of the recommended amount you could keep the extract from being overpowering but build upon the fruit flavor.

One other thought is to check if there are any strawberry liqueurs out there. Just watch out for the extra sugar that will be in the liqueurs.

[mikestro35]

I make a Stawberry wheat all the time. Always comes out good, and always the first to go. I have used fresh and frozen, whole and puree but really can't tell the difference. Freezing the strawberries is suppose to allow the ice crystles to penetrate the fruit cells to help release their flavor. If you have fresh strawberries, I have trimmed of the top and freeze, or puree and freeze and let thaw before adding after primary fermentation. Store bought frozen stawberries will work. I use about 4-5lbs per 5 gallon batch. I add straight to carboy after primary fermentation is about complete, then let sit for another week. This gives a good strawberry aroma with a subtle but good strawberry taste. If using a carboy it will be easier to get puree in and out, (also I feel it extracts more of the strawberry goodness, when use whole strawberries they float to the top and the top half seem not to get introduced to the beer).

Strawberry Wheat
50% Wheat Malt
50% Pils/Pale Malt
Bittering hop addition to produce 10-12 IBUs
Neutural Yeast strain (Nottingham works fine)
Ferment untill primary fermentation is complete (usually 3-4 days)
Add Strawberries straight to primary, and let sit another 7 days.

[huskerbrew]

Just posted this in another thread, but a guy in our club made a strawberry kolsch and it was awesome. Not too much an not too little. He used 12-14 lbs of strawberries for 5 gallons. Some were frozen whole, some he ran thru a juicer. That's a lot of fruit, but I like the juicer idea. Seems that the juice would be a lot easier do deal with. The more I talk about this, the more I want to try it. Will post back when my experiment is over.

[amg800]

Has anyone had success brewing with Blueberries? Been thinking of trying to brew a blueberry stout ever since I had Buffalo Bills Blueberry Stout. But I hadn't thought about blueberry wit before reading this thread. Any thoughts?